Political beliefs and political illusions — endlessly fascinating. A delusional op-ed from one Jacob Weisberg, at Investors’ IBD editorials is the most immediate case in point: (Do read the whole thing, and the comments too)

Barack Obama’s most cherished illusion during his first term was the possibility of cooperation with Republicans.

Time and again, the president came to Congress bearing pre-emptive concessions — on his original economic stimulus package, his health care plan and the 2011 debt-ceiling fight — only to have the door slammed in his face by an obstructionist GOP that viewed politics as a zero-sum game.

Because the president has long seen himself as a conciliator and a bridge figure, he was unwilling to let go of his faith that if he only hewed to the path of moderation, his opponents would eventually have to meet him there.

HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa President It’s-my-way-or-the-highway has long seen himself as a conciliator and a bridge figure? Of course the president won almost no Republican votes for any of his major initiatives. Keynesian stimulus does not work, has never worked, and was totally ineffective, as predicted. $815 billion simply wasted.

His health care plan was just turned over to Nancy Pelosi to produce behind closed doors with no attempt to consult, talk to, or engage Republicans in any way, has been a disaster, is expected to double the cost of health care for Americans, has put millions out of work as employers try to cope with the new rules, and been a major factor in our continuing recession.

Weisberg says “The one advantage of Obama’s relentless reasonableness was that it rendered him immune to Republican charges of ruthlessness and extremism in the past election.” Relentless reasonableness?

On the last day of 2012, Richard Cohen, wrote in his column about “Republicans Adrift”

It is conservatism that is both intellectually exhausted and nearly indefensible. It is the movement of the ideologically ossified, of gun zealots and homophobes, of the immigrant-phobic and the adamantly selfish. It insists that government must be small (an impossibility!), education must be local (a stupidity) and that debt, no matter what the reason, is immoral and reckless. The movement has lost its reliable monster. Godless communists have been replaced by the church ladies of Planned Parenthood. History giggles.

“Republican Party seems as divided , angry as ever” and “Debt-limit fight takes shape: Won’t Republicans ever be happy?” It’s hard, Powerline notes to exaggerate the political importance of the Democratic Party’s control over the news media. The steady drip-drip of pro Democrat and anti-Republican propaganda is perhaps the dominant fat of American political life in the 21st century. One place where we see this is in headlines, which are important because they are what low-information voters mostly see.

Michelle Malkin has assembled the Progressive “Climate of Hate” into an illustrated primer, 2000 – 2010, which reminds us of the past graciousness and cooperation of the Democratic Party.

I’m sure you have plenty of examples of your own. They are continually enraged because Republicans dare to disagree with them. I suspect because they cannot discuss these things rationally. Republicans talk about economics, or the Constitution, or math, or history, and Democrats are just more involved with feelings. Don’t trouble me with facts, don’t you understand how I feel?